My Gift Journal and a $50 Giveaway from NOVICA

Ten years ago I began a gift journal. At it’s very core the journal includes every item I’ve received over the past decade. I write down the name of the person who provided the gift and the item I received. I started the journal for two reasons. First, it was an excellent way to keep track of the thank you notes I needed to write. I kept a little area in the left hand margin where I could write a check mark when notes were complete. Second, it helped me feel grateful and thankful for everything I received.

In the blur of opening birthday or Christmas presents it’s easy to lose track of what you receive and who gave it to you. We often head to the beach on the day after Christmas so Christmas night becomes a blur of washing, folding and packing away all of the items we received. One night after putting everything away I could barely remember what we’d gotten. That very night I started my gift journal as an extension of my gratitude journal.

I now maintain two journals. One includes a list of all of the things my family receives and one contains a list of all of the gifts I’ve purchased for others. The mere act of writing things down helps me think more creatively about my purchases and ensures that I spend a little extra time and energy purchasing gifts for the people I love. Plus reading through a decade’s worth of gifts make me feel grateful for all that I have received and even more blessed for all that I have given.

Every time a birthday or special occasion looms on the calendar I review my past purchases. This helps ensure that I purchase unique gifts year after year. It also makes me realize that I am in need of a few unique ideas.

I’ve bought a number of gifts from NOVICA including beautiful flowered necklaces and pearl drop earrings. Here is one I absolutely love:

If you find an artist who’s work you enjoy you can add them to your list of favorites, search for their creations or even sign up for an RSS feed so you can receive alerts when they create something new. I personally love the work of Busarin. Three of the four items I bought from NOVICA were designed by her.

If you’d like to win a $50 gift certificate to NOVICA feel free to enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter entry system below. One lucky winner will be selected on Monday, August 13th.

The best gift I ever received was a set of pyrex dishes. I know, it’s not an amazing gift – but I had mentioned off-hand wanting a complete set with lids, and my then-newish-boyfriend got it for me for Christmas. Now that we’re married, we don’t exchange gifts anymore, but I was so touched that he listened AND remembered something that I would never have bought for myself.

I think the best and most surprising gift I ever had the chance to give was a trip to London for my little sister. She really wanted to go on the class trip but wasn’t able to afford it, I paid the fee and let her know on her birthday.

when my four year old nephew was living in another state, i sent him a gift. a few days later i got a box in the mail from him, and it was a blown up (and staring to deflate) balloon!!! what a great gift he sent me back!

Best gift I’ve ever given? Hmm..well, I had a boyfriend who really liked videos games, even though I didn’t really care for them or know much about them. He had been excited for this one game to come out and had been talking about it all year and after it came out I managed to get ahold of a copy of it for him signed by the entire development team.